Of Dragons and Little Boys
by Ellynne
Summary: Rumplestiltskin rescues a little boy. A companion story to Dead Reckonings


At the time, it seemed strange to wake up screaming.

Moss hadn't done that – not once! – outside, not in all the days he had spent hiding in shadows and small holes – holes too small for _them_ to follow.

Later, when he was older, he would understand how he had barely slept during those days. He had dozed lightly, waking up terrified at any sound or shift of light. It was only once he was safe, once he could fall asleep without the fear of not waking up till it was too late, that he could sleep deeply enough to be trapped in his dreams.

That first night, he had woken up screaming. And he kept on screaming, even when his eyes were open, unable to see what was really there instead of his memories.

Gold had held him through all that, making soothing sounds, trying to calm him.

Eventually, Moss had realized that was what was happening.

And he had continued to sob, terrified at what he'd been doing.

Screaming. _Noise_. It brought _them_. They would all die, everyone in the house, and it would be Moss' fault all over again –

Gold had rocked him in the large, hickory rocking chair in the Skinners' sitting room, promising over and over again that he was safe, that it didn't matter if he screamed or not, that no one was going to hurt him, Gold wouldn't let them.

And, finally, his sobs subsiding, Moss had believed him.

He knew he'd slept fitfully the rest of the night. He remembered snatches of nightmares and terrors.

All of them cut off by a soft, gentle voice reassuring him, whispering promises of safety.

When Moss finally woke, it was hours past dawn. Gold was still in the chair, still holding him. The sun shown on his gold-green scales.

At the time, Moss remembered thinking he looked like a dragon, a dragon that could take on and destroy all the other monsters.

When he was grown, Moss would realize Gold must have been up all night with him. Then, he only knew he was safe. Gold wouldn't leave him. Gold could keep the monsters away.

Gold had also given him a bath, the way his mother used to, and cleaned the dead nits out of his hair. He gave him clean, new clothes, warm ones with a picture of a train on them. When it was bedtime, he produced pajamas, also with trains (Moss loved trains).

He found him food – real food, not scavenged stuff from the gutters or trash. Gold even produced a bowl of ice cream once, after Moss had eaten all his vegetables.

He showed Moss how to play checkers and Old Maid. Moss showed him how to play football.

They played it in the sitting room. Gold suggested the backyard would be safe but he didn't press the point when Moss shook his head, terrified at the idea of being outside. Gold was very good at catching balls just before they hit the oil lamps he'd brought into the room.

He also made the dragon for Moss.

It was a beautiful dragon, Moss thought. It was all velvet and soft. It had white silk teeth and gold brocade claws. Pearls were sewn into its wings, and its eyes glittered like white fire.

"What will you name him?" Gold asked.

Moss had given the dragon a long, studious look, trying to think what would be a good name for it. He remembered a story his mother had read him.

_Belinda lived in a little white house,  
With a little black kitten and a little gray mouse,  
And a little yellow dog and a little red wagon,  
And a realio, trulio, little pet dragon._

What had that dragon's name been?

"Cuthbert," Moss said. "His name is Cuthbert."

Gold had grinned, his brown and black fangs shining. "A good choice. Cuthbert it is, then." And he had petted the stuffed dragon, which had smiled, showing its own fangs, and wagged its embroidered, crocodile tail.

Cuthbert was fun to play with. He ran and flew about the room while Moss chased him. He was also even better than Gold at catching the ball before it hit something it shouldn't and bringing it back to him. When Gold gave Moss a stick and showed him how to use it like a sword, Cuthbert helped him practice, weaving and dodging around Moss' pretend blade.

Gold let him talk to Mrs. Skinner, too. She was nice – and she _had_ held _them_ off till Gold had showed up and finished them off. That's how she got bitten and why she had eyes like _them,_ with the whites turned red.

Gold said she wasn't one of _them_, and she didn't act like one of _them._ But, she still scared Moss. He stood near Gold the whole time, ducking behind him. But, Mrs. Skinner only asked him questions about how he was and whether Gold was taking care of him.

Moss mostly nodded and held onto Cuthbert.

Cuthbert was only a stuffed toy when Mrs. Skinner was around. Gold said that was because Cuthbert was a very smart dragon. He knew to stay still and pretend not to be dangerous at all around people who didn't need to know.

That night, Gold had sat Moss on his lap as he sat in the rocking chair and told him stories about a boy named Bae who lived in a world where there were dragons and fairies and magic and a father who would protect him from any dangers no matter what.

And he held him again and soothed him while he had nightmares and calmed him when he screamed.

The next day, he had taken Moss outside. He carried Moss with one hand and held his sword out with the other.

"Nothing will attack us," he promised Moss. "But, you feel safer with it out, don't you?"

Nothing had attacked them, and Moss (though he clung tightly to Gold) felt safe.

Moss brought him to the river. They went out on a dock to where a boat was tied up. It was a nice looking boat, Moss decided. Gold took them onboard.

"We have an important trip to make," Gold told him as he untied the boat and moved them away. "You'll like the river. _They_ can't swim. We won't meet any of them here."

"Where are we going?" Moss asked.

"We are going to find Mrs. Skinner's husband. He got lost on the water. But, don't worry, we'll find him."

He showed Moss how to guide the boat with the rudder and how the sails worked. He let Moss try his hand at the rudder, although he helped when he tried to move the sails.

When that got boring, Gold let the sails and rudder take care of themselves. Then, he took Moss below deck and showed him where everything was. He let him pick which bunk he wanted (both the bunks in the room he gave Moss were already made up with blankets and sheets with train on them). He also found a toy train set for Moss (after it was set up, when Cuthbert breathed a small jet of flame at the engine, it went around the track, smoke coming out of the stack).

Later, Gold made him practice using his stick sword. He also asked him questions about whether or not Moss had started school (he hadn't) and if he knew any of his letters. He brought out an alphabet book and let him tell him what sounds the letters made.

It had big beautiful pictures (hand painted, Moss realized years later, with paints that might have been made from real gold and carefully ground jewels, the way they glowed). "A is for Al – Al –"

"Albification," Gold said. "One of the stages of alchemy. All right, now, try the next one –"

After they were done with the lesson, fixed lunch for them. Then, he let Moss go back on deck and play with Cuthbert till dinnertime.

That night, Gold found Mr. Ron. Cuthbert pretended to be a toy whenever Mr. Ron was around for the first couple days.

After that, lots of things happened, and it didn't matter if Cuthbert pretended to be normal or not.


End file.
